How To Donate to the People Hit Hardest by the Government Shutdown

As of this writing, this year's partial shutdown of the federal government is the longest shutdown in U.S. history, having stretched out for over a month. Imagine not having been paid since December, with no end in sight. That's the reality for more than 800,000 people right now.

Considering that government salaries are already on the lower side (14 percent are below $50,000 a year, per the Washington Post), many of the people affected by this shutdown were probably already living paycheck to paycheck. Having now missed two paychecks and counting, it's not hard to imagine people being forced to rely on food stamps or the local food pantry, unable to feed their families or pay their mortgage. Not to mention, many furloughed employees are still going to work, which is limiting their opportunities to make money from other work.

This is the time to give more support, not less. Thankfully, there are a number of easy ways you can do so. Here are a list of ways you can directly contribute to the people affected by the shutdown (by "directly," I mean via verified organizations and other methods that provide the right supplies to the right people).

AmazonSmile

With AmazonSmile, you shop for yourself as you would normally, but Amazon donates a portion of a purchase to a charity of your choice—with no additional cost to you. Feeding America, Capital Area Food Bank, and National Diaper Bank, all organizations that are helping furloughed workers, are listed as available charities.

Amazon Wishlists

If you want to support a charity that has stated they're assisting with the government shutdown (see some examples below), take a look to see if they have an Amazon Wishlist. It's like a registry, but for supplies, and nonprofits are often very good at updating it with the exact items they need.

Feeding America

Feeding America has a huge network of local pantries, and it's reached out to their communities impacted by the shutdown to distribute resources efficiently. That way, the furloughed workers can get what they really need, whether it's pop-up food pantries or extended hours or increased distributions.

Capital Area Food Bank

Many government workers live in Washington, D.C., so nonprofits are taking care to provide resources there.Capital Area Food Bank is offering free pop-up grocery distributions to furloughed workers, along with other flexible options for free food. It even has resources for you to host your own digital food drive for the most direct kind of assistance.

GoFundMe

More than 1,800 furloughed workers have been turning to GoFundMe for their individual needs, raising more than $400,000 in the process. (Don't worry, GoFundMe has been verifying them individually to make sure funds are going to people actually impacted.) There are also fundraisers on the site from nonprofits that will distribute the funds among furloughed workers, like...

GoFundMe Government Shutdown Direct Relief Fund

GoFundMe alsolaunched a relief fund in partnership with author Deepak Chopra; seeing the thousands of individual campaigns inspired GoFundMe to start a larger initiative. Funds are being distributed directly to nonprofits providing supplies—"hot meals, necessary counseling, and housing relief." Right now, the fund has raised more than $359,000 and counting.

#ChefsForFeds

The nonprofit World Central Kitchen is also one of the organizations selected by GoFundMe. Through the #ChefsForFeds initiative, celebrity chef José Andrés is offering free hot meals in D.C., and is reaching out to restaurants, food trucks, nonprofits, and other businesses and people who want to help directly (as well as accepting donations towards their work).

United for U.S. Fund

Created by United Way, United for U.S.helps people impacted by the shutdown through supplies and other tangible resources. United Way donates 100 percent of funds towards financial services, counseling, and emergency services for food, lodging, and other necessities.

If you happen to live in a place where there are a number of affected government workers, you can also call your local food pantry or government office, such as the American Federation for Government Employees, to see exactly what you can donate, or ways to offer time or monetary support for those in need.

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